Rocky Mountain House could find itself in one of two very different electoral maps ahead of Alberta’s 2027 provincial election.
A committee tasked with redrawing provincial boundaries has released its majority report, recommending the creation of a Lacombe-Clearwater riding that would include the city of Lacombe along with the towns of Bentley, Blackfalds and Rocky Mountain House.
Under the proposal, the current Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre riding would be divided between two others, including Lacombe-Ponoka. The consolidation was recommended due to slower population growth in Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre compared with areas to the east.
Majority report “reluctant” to remove rural seats
Despite what the commission described as a reluctance to remove rural electoral divisions, two ridings — Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre and Lac Ste. Anne-Parkland — would disappear from the map.
The commission, which was given authority to draw 89 electoral divisions, said it would have been easier to address concerns raised by Clearwater County council and others if the Legislature had approved more than two additional seats.
Those concerns included requests to pair Clearwater County with Sundre in a single riding.
The report notes that eliminating Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre could create cascading effects across four neighbouring ridings and elsewhere in the province.
Ultimately, the commission described the removal of the riding as necessary and the “least unfair” option given the constraints imposed by the seat count.
Commission chair Dallas Miller said the panel’s hands were tied, noting the size of the legislature increased by only two per cent while Alberta’s population grew by 20 per cent.
He warned that focusing too heavily on equalizing population numbers risks diluting rural voices and making it harder for MLAs to represent constituents effectively.
Miller recommended that, if the Legislature cannot accept the loss of rural seats, it should consider increasing the total number of electoral divisions from 89 to 91. He argued that doing so would better balance representation without further diminishing rural influence.
Under the proposal, much of Parkland County would also be redistributed into Drayton Valley-Stony Plain, Edmonton-Beaumont and Edmonton-Enoch.
Minority report proposes different map
The minority report proposes a significantly different configuration, including a sprawling riding called Rocky Mountain House–Banff Park Boundary.
That proposed riding would include the town of Rocky Mountain House and extend west to the British Columbia border, north toward Stony Plain-Drayton Valley and east toward rural-urban hybrid ridings surrounding Red Deer and Lacombe.
A Banff-Jasper riding was briefly considered. However, feedback from residents and transportation studies indicated the two communities are not easily connected by major routes, leading the commission to place them in separate ridings.
Concerns raised about minority proposal
The majority report raised several concerns about the minority proposal’s boundaries.
It criticized the Rocky Mountain House–Banff Park Boundary concept, arguing Clearwater County should remain unified as a distinct region rather than being tied to either the Highway 2 corridor to the east or the Rocky Mountain parks to the west. Pairing Rocky Mountain House with Banff was described as “clearly illogical.”
The majority report also raised concerns about population balance under the minority proposal.
It cited Calgary as an example, noting that several southern ridings would fall at or below the provincial population average, while central and northeast Calgary ridings would approach the statutory maximum.
MLA says representation — not politics — is the focus
Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre MLA Jason Nixon said the redrawing of electoral boundaries should focus on representation rather than political advantage.
“I live in one of the most conservative places in all of Alberta — there’s lots of room for MLAs on the conservative side of the aisle to get elected in places like West Central Alberta,” he said.
Nixon said the majority report, led by Justice Dallas Miller, made clear that population growth across Alberta is shaping considerations around rural representation.
He added that maintaining unified regional representation is important.
“Breaking Clearwater County into four or five pieces is a real challenge for that community and will make it very hard to represent that community effectively,” Nixon said.
He expressed hope that a new independent committee reviewing the maps will strike the right balance.
MLA Jason Nixon speaks about rural representation in Alberta
Province returns to the drawing board
A motion from Premier Danielle Smith’s government to revisit proposed changes to Alberta’s electoral maps has passed in the Legislature.
The motion directs a new committee of MLAs to oversee the work of an advisory panel that will propose updated riding maps by the fall.
Smith said the motion aligns with recommendations from the commission chair, who suggested expanding the legislature to 91 seats to prevent the loss of rural ridings.
Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi criticized the decision, calling it a smokescreen that could allow the government to adopt elements of the minority proposal — a plan critics say could favour the governing United Conservative Party.
Government officials rejected that characterization, saying their goal is to ensure rural voices remain protected.
Rural-urban hybrid ridings proposed
The minority report also proposes several new rural-urban hybrid ridings, particularly around Alberta’s mid-sized cities.
Red Deer and Lethbridge would each be divided into four ridings under the proposal, including configurations such as Red Deer-Lacombe, Red Deer-Sylvan Lake and Lethbridge-Cardston and Lethbridge-Little Bow.
Nixon said hybrid ridings are not without precedent, pointing to Airdrie, which shares representation with Cochrane and a rural area between the two cities.
With Alberta’s population growing rapidly and only a limited number of new seats available, the commission said expanding the use of hybrid ridings was unavoidable.
The Alberta government eliminated the previous requirement that the commission craft electoral districts to align with Calgary and Edmonton’s municipal boundaries. Consequently, additional hybrid districts surrounding the two big cities been recommended in an interim report.
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